Shorten hit by Labor tax backlash
Shorten hit by Labor tax backlash
Labor leader Bill Shorten is considering backing down altogether from revoking tax cuts for small and medium enterprises after a fierce internal backlash against plans to limit tax relief to firms with turnovers of either $2 million or $10 million. The Fin
Hiring skilled foreign workers made easier as pay level lowered
An open-ended number of visas will be issued through the Global Talent Scheme for technology, science and engineering businesses, and other companies that generate at least $4 million a year in revenue, or are listed on the share market. The Fin
Santos could take over gas JV partner Comet Ridge
Santos may be driving down debt and paying dividends again, but there’s also excitement that the $13 billion Adelaide company could be about to launch a takeover of its smaller rival Comet Ridge. The Aus
Laws could hit egg and meat prices
Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan says the Government will need to go back to the drawing board on planned animal cruelty laws, amid warnings the changes would push up the costs of basic items such as eggs and meat. The West
Rio faces investor revolt in Mongolia
Rio Tinto’s Canadian-listed Turquoise Hill subsidiary is under growing investor pressure to appoint independent management, with a second minority shareholder, Invesco, voicing governance concerns about the company that holds all of Rio’s stake in the $US11 billion ($15bn) Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. The Aus
New ban: All bets are off for Lottoland
The Turnbull government has outlawed betting on overseas lotteries, effectively signing the death warrant of Lottoland in Australia. The Aus
Britannia rules waves: UK’s $35bn frigate win
The largest peace-time warship building program in Australian naval history has been awarded to British defence giant BAE Systems under a $35 billion contract to deliver nine of the most advanced anti-submarine warfare vessels in the world. The Aus
$670m for HMAS Stirling
HMAS Stirling naval base on Garden Island will get a $670 million upgrade as part of the Federal Government’s $35 billion project to build the navy’s next generation of frigates but Henderson-based Austal has been overlooked as a major contractor on the project. The West
Bankwest’s big bonuses drove loans frenzy
A Bankwest relationship manager who inflated property values, misappropriated customer funds and backdated documents was motivated by a generous incentive scheme that included luxury holidays and a massive cash bonus, the Hayne royal commission has heard. The Fin
China’s iron ore imports stay robust as steel risks mount
China’s imports of iron ore appear headed for their strongest month this year in June, but the risks of a slowdown in the second half of 2018 are mounting. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Labor leader Bill Shorten is considering backing down altogether from revoking tax cuts for small and medium enterprises after a fierce internal backlash against plans to limit tax relief to firms with turnovers of either $2 million or $10 million.
The Australian sharemarket is on track to finish the 2018 financial year with a gain of more than 8 per cent, advancing for a second straight year on earnings upgrades from the resources sector and a strong showing from the high-growth market darlings.
Page 3: An ‘‘independent’’ review by KPMG into the technology systems of the Australian Bureau of Statistics after the bungled 2016 census was rigged to reflect the views of the bureau, according to damaging claims made by a whistle-blower from the big four firm.
Page 6: An open-ended number of visas will be issued through the Global Talent Scheme for technology, science and engineering businesses, and other companies that generate at least $4 million a year in revenue, or are listed on the share market.
Page 7: Regulators will target the use of self-managed superannuation funds to invest in property after a review uncovered high levels of detrimental advice being provided to DIY trustees.
Page 8: Energy retailers are offering more simple ‘‘fixed-rate’’ electricity deals as they brace for a report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that is expected to urge tough measures to help customers get a better deal.
Page 10: A Bankwest relationship manager who inflated property values, misappropriated customer funds and backdated documents was motivated by a generous incentive scheme that included luxury holidays and a massive cash bonus, the Hayne royal commission has heard.
Page 12: Australia will push for greater access for services industries into China as part of a review of the free trade agreement, with Trade Minister Steven Ciobo nominating aged care as one profession with strong potential for growth.
Page 17: Santos shareholders are set to be rewarded after the gas producer’s ‘‘near-death experience’’ with a resumption of dividends flagged for August, though some investors are disappointed with the miserly payouts under the new ‘‘sustainable’’ dividend policy.
Qantas has tapped former Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder to be its next chairman as the national carrier looks to build on the dramatic transformation of its business under the supervision of current chair Leigh Clifford at a time of rising fuel prices and intense competition
Page 19: Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has dismissed the argument that gas will be squeezed out of the energy mix by the rise of batteries and renewables, pointing to its potential as a transport fuel and for conversion into hydrogen.
Page 33: China’s imports of iron ore appear headed for their strongest month this year in June, but the risks of a slowdown in the second half of 2018 are mounting.
Page 35: State governments’ collective stamp duty take will dip next year before rising to a record high of $23.1 billion in 2022 under ‘‘optimistic’’ forecasts that the Housing Industry Association says may prove premature.
West Australian real estate investment group Security Capital Australia has sold its fully leased office building at 154 Pacific Highway, St Leonards in Sydney’s lower north shore, for $60 million.
The Australian
Page 1: The largest peace-time warship building program in Australian naval history has been awarded to British defence giant BAE Systems under a $35 billion contract to deliver nine of the most advanced anti-submarine warfare vessels in the world.
One of the nation’s largest childcare operators, which will charge parents for a child-free day so staff can be trained, is owned by a private equity firm headquartered in Switzerland with three associated entities registered in the tax haven of Guernsey.
The four biggest US tech giants paid an extra $380 million tax last year in the wake of tough new tax-avoidance laws introduced by the Turnbull government, although concerns remain money is still slipping through the net.
Page 2: The Turnbull government has outlawed betting on overseas lotteries, effectively signing the death warrant of Lottoland in Australia.
Optus has decided against risking further customer backlash by pulling the pin on its exclusive $8 million World Cup streaming plans and handing the remaining games back to SBS.
Page 17: A stunning 90 per cent of financial advice given when investors open self-managed super funds is not compliant with the law, as controversial “one-stop” property shops boom, according to a survey from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
Page 18: Santos may be driving down debt and paying dividends again, but there’s also excitement that the $13 billion Adelaide company could be about to launch a takeover of its smaller rival Comet Ridge.
Page 20: Rio Tinto’s Canadian-listed Turquoise Hill subsidiary is under growing investor pressure to appoint independent management, with a second minority shareholder, Invesco, voicing governance concerns about the company that holds all of Rio’s stake in the $US11 billion ($15bn) Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.
Page 21: National Australia Bank has been hit with new conditions for failing to move quickly enough to fix problems in its foreign exchange business, after it was found to have front-run clients and entered illegitimate bids.
Page 23: Employment growth at the nation’s leading law firms is booming, with hundreds of jobs created since December.
Page 24: Upward pressure on airfares is set to continue as airlines carefully manage capacity amid higher fuel bills.
The West Australian
Page 1: Woolworths has done a major backflip on its plastic bag ban and will hand out free reusable bags to shoppers for the next 10 days.
Page 3: The State Opposition has called for all WA’s speed cameras to be taken off the road until they are proven accurate after police yesterday revealed another 25,000 infringements would be reviewed amid concerns of false readings.
Page 6: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is standing by tax cuts for the nation’s biggest businesses, despite abandoning plans to debate the legislation in the Senate, setting up a re-run of the 2016 election.
Page 11: Job vacancies across WA have climbed to their highest level since the peak of the mining boom but signs are growing that falling house prices are eating into people’s wealth.
Page 14: Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan says the Government will need to go back to the drawing board on planned animal cruelty laws, amid warnings the changes would push up the costs of basic items such as eggs and meat.
Page 18: HMAS Stirling naval base on Garden Island will get a $670 million upgrade as part of the Federal Government’s $35 billion project to build the navy’s next generation of frigates but Henderson-based Austal has been overlooked as a major contractor on the project.
Page 22: Alcohol advertising is being stripped from public transport in WA, as the State Government implements a promised ban.
Business: Uncertainty about access to proposed berthing facilities at Port Hedland has emerged as a sticking point in the battle for control of Atlas Iron.
The State Government’s decision to sell Landgate’s most profitable services could deliver a $140 million windfall for Swiss outsourcing giant Adecco, with the Government refusing to rule out bundling the services into an existing partly privatised vehicle.
Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk says the company’s $56 million rare earths pilot plant in the Kimberley would not have been built if Federal Government cutbacks on research and development in this year’s Budget had been introduced a year earlier.
New Australian Pork chairman David Lock said his organisation would step up successful marketing efforts to increase the nation’s pork consumption and help embattled pig producers.
Investors in Automotive Holdings Group have expressed their concern over a delay in the $400 million sale of its refrigerated logistics business to Chinese group HNA by stripping another 2 per cent from the stock.
